As prime for the scientific-technical payload and responsible for the military repeater, Tesat-Spacecom is responsible for the design, construction and verification of the core elements of the German space mission “Heinrich Hertz”.

Aladin’s magic lamp ready for take off: After 16 years of preparation and tough technical difficulties, Aeolus is finally ready to go for its final destination in low earth orbit. Weighing 1.4 tons, Aeolus carries the payload “Aladin”(Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument), which is based on the concept of LIDAR (Light detection and ranging), a method related to RADAR, but with laser beams for distance measuring instead of radio waves. After getting online Aeolus will help improve weather...

Recently an editor of the VDI-Nachrichten paid us a visit for his research on laser communications and EDRS-C, having no fear bringing our experts to their limits and asking difficult and uncomfortable questions. The result is an exciting and extensive article with the headline „Lichtgestalt“ („Shining Light“). The article describes our LCT135, which we developed and produced in cooperation with DLR IKN, and its role within Airbus’ SpaceDataHighway. Many thanks to Iestyn Hartbrich for the...

The final countdown for Tara, Samuel, Anna and Ellen begins: Only 1 hour and 30 minutes until the new Galileo satellites are launched into orbit onboard an Ariane 5 launcher. In short: the European Galileo program is the counterpart to the US GPS system and is though an independent, global satellite navigation system. Tesat-Spacecom's part for the four new satellites was to deliver the essential TT&C transponders, which are being used to properly determine the position of an object in space...

Berlin, 26.04.2018: At today’s press conference Airbus Defence and Space, the Institute for Communication and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center (DLR-IKN) and Tesat-Spacecom published their cooperation with the aim to equip the ISS with a high capacity direct-to-earth Laser Communication Terminal.

Backnang, 12.04.2018: Tesat's Laser Communication Terminal for CubeSats, CubeL, is on track after recently the Critical Design Review (CDR) was successfully held at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Oberpfaffenhofen. This was an important milestone for the development program on the way to its demonstration mission, which is planned to launch later this year.

Satellite communication reaches new peak Backnang, 11.04.2018: Tesat-Spacecom established 10,000 connections between satellites using its Laser Communication Terminals (LCT). Tesat's LCTs transmit massive amounts of data at up to 1.8 Gbps over distances of 80,000 km in orbit. In addition, the company develops significantly smaller LCTs for Direct-to-Earth applications.

Backnang, 21.02.2018: Exactly ten years ago on 21st February, 2008, a government-to-government cooperation between the United States and Germany to establish a laser link between two operational satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) started a new chapter in the history of space. The German radar satellite TerraSAR-X and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency satellite NFIRE, both equipped with Laser Communication Terminals (LCT) manufactured by Tesat-Spacecom, established the first successful and...

The LCT135 with its 135 mm narrow aperture is the smallest terminal in the geostationary orbit. Working in a daily routine it is the powerhouse within the European Data Relay System called SpaceDataHighway. Under the ESA ScyLight program Tesat-Spacecom has now spawned the next evolution step for our well known GEO Laser Communication Terminals LCT135, by further developing and implementing new additional features to make even more applications possible. Therefore the GEO LCT135 will get –...

Tomorrow, on the 25th January, at 23:20 CET (live stream starts at 22:05 CET) an Ariane 5 ECA will launch two satellites - the SES-14 and the Al Yah 3 - into a geostationary transfer orbit. A rocket launch per se is a event you don't want to miss, but - needless to say - for us it's always a very special moment when our equipment gets shot into space, such as a variety of Ku- and Ka-Band OMUXes, IMUXes, Switches, Filters and MPMs.

Today at 11:27 am CET the European Sentinel-5P satellite of the Copernicus program starts with a Rockot from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. In addition to the great fact that this launch is one of the few that takes place during the day and you do not have to stay up late or get up early, the mission of the Sentinel 5P is a remarkable one: With its state-of-the-art Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (Tropomi), it measures a variety of trace gases such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone,...

PI1283 – Backnang, 12.09.2017: Tesat-Spacecom GmbH announced today that it will produce and market an interoperable version of its space based Laser Communication Terminal (LCT). The interoperable terminal will be able to communicate in both 1064nm and 1550nm wavelengths.

The topic of counterfeit semiconductors and other faked high-tech components has become increasingly explosive in today's world and the latest technical developments. Just last week the European Anti-fraud Office ( OLAF helps partners seize over one million counterfeit semiconductors in major Joint Customs Operation , 03.07.17) and international media reported about a century coup of European customs surveys and the securing of millions of counterfeit semiconductors.

ExoMars on it's first milestone

The TGO space probe was now on its way to the Red Planet for seven months, and is now on the finishing line of the ExoMars mission. Yesterday afternoon, the international team of ESA and Roskosmos researchers celebrated the first milestone: The separation of "Schiaparelli" from the research probe "TGO", which was not quite uninhibitive, was successfully mastered. Now it takes a few more days until Schiaparelli has braked to the right speed, before it lands on Mars on Wednesday.

For Tesat components it is now by no means the first rendezvous with our neighbor planet, but nevertheless always exciting to witness - and of course we still fever like the first time! From us on the ExoMars mission are X-Band waveguide switches, which are used in ExoMars telemetry subsystems. Furthermore, many parts, such as radiation-resistant voltage regulators, logic modules and bipolar transistors, have been subjected to demanding thermal cycling tests in our Parts Agency.

Tesat wishes ExoMars all the best, lots of success and great insights about our neighbor!